Obama Administration Resignations: 10 People Who Quit

Phil Carter, Obama's top detainee affairs policy appointee at the Pentagon, announced his resignation on Tuesday. He's not the first person to abruptly quit the new White House. Check out our slideshow -- and vote for who you wish had stayed and who you're happy to see gone.

Phil Carter

Obama's top detainee affairs policy appointee at the Pentagon, Phil Carter, quit his post after just seven months on the job, in a surprise move that he described as personal.

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Comments

[LALAW]

03:40 PM on 12/03/2009

The inclusion of Anita Dunn in this piece saps every bit of credibility from it. Guess you needed double digits. The problem for the person who compiled this piece is that I know that Anita Dunn had always planned to leave. Since she was included in a piece that is obviously meant to imply that all of these people "abruptly quit", the piece has no credibility. Some of the others quit because they had become targets of right wing extremists. This piece is the type of inaccurate innuendo reporting that would make Fox News proud. In fact, I expect Fox will do a similar story shortly. The quality of this site is deteriorating rapidly.

[roseau]

01:13 PM on 12/03/2009

I would chalk up half of the quitters to the fact that the kind of people obviously in line for top jobs in a new administration are already 'successful' in the private sector. These are people accustomed to jobs where they have more autonomy, see quicker results for their work, and are paid more (by a factor of 10+). It's admirable that these people have served at all, and we are probably in better shape than after 8 years of Bush gutting the civil service of talent. However, it will take a long time to recruit and promote a new generation of leaders. Not everyone is fit for the high-demand, low-reward world. The non-profit sector is like government in this way - hard to recruit and retain talent, also hard to get rid of dead wood.

[sirhurtzallot]

11:40 AM on 11/28/2009

IMHO......They didn't want to be implicated in any treasonous acts.

[jws2346]

11:15 AM on 11/28/2009

Do anybody smell somethin' funny goin' on hear? Here these peeps were part of an administration that extended unemployment benefits and they quit. Probably to collect unemployment benefits. (only kiddin)

[saveal]

11:29 AM on 11/26/2009

Anotherone has seen the light, and come over from the dark side.

[worldtravelerall7]

01:57 AM on 11/26/2009

I find it EXTREMELY disturbing that 2, or 20%, of these are attributed to Glenn Beck. It really puts the potential impact of gross stupidity into context.

[lazercat2008]

11:19 PM on 11/25/2009

Don't forget Lou Dobbs.

[worldtravelerall7]

01:55 AM on 11/26/2009

what? God help you if that is your idea of a sense of humor.

[Chazmania]

10:05 PM on 11/25/2009

Detainee affairs? what kind of job is that?
So you make sure there water boarded and have there testicles electroshocked!
all the emanates the average detainee expects from his stay with the us government?

[wildedge]

09:42 PM on 11/25/2009

Obama has betrayed his base - impeach him from the left.
Warmonger Obama!
Wall St. shill Obama!
Obstructionist of Healthcare reform - Obama!
Change for the worse we didn't believe in - Obama, you must go!

[SlowtoLearn]

11:23 PM on 11/25/2009

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but... well, yes I do... are you serious? "Warmonger Obama"?

I would be one of the first to concede that losing people like Greg Craig should cause the President to step back and make sure that he is still moving in a good direction. But it is sheer lunacy to call the man a "Wall St. shill" (whatever that means) just because he - like every person in that office before him - has been forced to compromise. Yes, he has a Democratic legislature, but some of them are blue in name only.

If you expect immediate and dramatic change, move to a country where military coups happen on a somewhat frequent basis. But if you are capable of acknowledging the slow pace of American politics, then please just have faith and be patient... at least for a little while longer.

[wxman]

01:12 PM on 11/26/2009

Greg Craig leaving should be a huge red flag to all. Let's see no public option, Afghani-Nam, gitmo, what else? Is there a pattern progressives?

[Chazmania]

09:09 PM on 11/25/2009

Of course i hope the incompetent and duplicitous quite. But they don't do they!
its always the people of conscience that quit for moral and ethical grounds unfortunately.
the s0ci0path never quits. they just keep honing there skills till someone gets hurt!

[ResearchtheFacts]

09:02 PM on 11/25/2009

And how is this government being considered as big government when those who were hired are leaving at about two a month. Then there is the many un-filled positions. Somebody explain to me how is this big government?

[ResearchtheFacts]

08:59 PM on 11/25/2009

Leaving for personal reasons is like saying...I will tell ya'll about it later when I write my book.

[treat2day]

08:57 PM on 11/25/2009

Elected officials should follow this trend!!!

Get rid of the career politicians who no longer represent the public.

[Chazmania]

10:07 PM on 11/25/2009

Finance reform is the only way and these "dudes" making the laws wont do it because then they will have to fire themselves!

[InfinteShibumi]

08:06 PM on 11/25/2009

Lame.

[yourmonscalling]

07:48 PM on 11/25/2009

THERE ALL BOOBS IN MY OPINION !!